Hooray For Harold Lloyd

Image: ANL.gov

Those lovely people over at Eternal Press, the company that published my latest book, STELLA, are in celebration mode. 2009 was one of their best ever year’s for sales, and to celebrate it they are giving away FREE READS for each purchase of a December New Release title from their website.

Visit their site here: Eternal Press

Of course, if you fancy it while there, please visit my own wee page and buy my own book: Stella at Eternal Press

(Note: Free reads will be emailed separately from purchase and will be chosen from the collection in either the same or a complimentary genre as the title purchased.)

I reviewed my November GDR yesterday; needn’t have bothered. I pasted “not done” at the end of almost every line.

December’s is a vastly slimmed down version. I figure if I can at least achieve something by the end of the month, however small, it will help me move back towards a more productive life. No false hopes, though, as that would just deflate me further.

I’m not going to publish November’s review, but here’s December’s:

Fiction
* Re-start Baccara Burning
* Re-submit any rejected/recalled short stories
* Enter/sub more fiction/poetry competitions/deadlines

Poetry
* Write at least one poem per week

Editing
* Stay on top of RR submissions
* Publish RR issue 9 for December 2009

Freelance
* Create platform for photographer to sell arty products online
* Keep up all websites updated and relevant

Reading & Learning
* The Kenneth William Diaries by Russell Davies

Remember Harold Lloyd? I asked a few people that at work yesterday after some internet browsing the other day, and not many people knew who I was talking about. He was a comedian back in the days when films were only available in black and white and not all of them with sound. An influence on the young Buster Keaton, he was famous for hilarious stunts and falls, and a thick-rimmed pair of glasses a la Elvis Costello.

I used to sit and watch him as a very young boy. I’m not sure if my folks would even remember the times when I would moan at them, wanting to take my dinner into the lounge to watch his show and not being allowed. I had to sit at the dinner table most nights, but occasionally I was allowed to watch the show which started at the awkward time of 6pm.

Harold Lloyd, some would say inevitably, was the pre-cursor for me developing into Laurel and Hardy, and Charlie Chaplain. They were all great and remain so, but for me, Harold Lloyd as my first discovery of the enjoyment that black and white silent comedy movies could hold, remains my favourite. I may have to make a purchase from Amazon in the near future …

“Hooray for Harold Lloyd—dada, dada, dada, dadada—Harold Lloyd— dada, dada, dada, dadada—a pair of glasses and a smile!”

Last weekend I offered to help Gail carry her stock and equipment to the monthly Arts Market at the Drill Hall in Leith. I ended up staying the full day and loved every minute of it. Despite it being cold and electrical problems leading to lighting difficulties, it was a great day and Gail, although only making a small profit, learned loads from it as did I.

I seemed to take to the whole thing naturally. Gail says I was obviously born to sell from a stall but personally I think that watching all those old episodes of Only Fools and Horses has finally paid off.

Gail has created block art from images she has captured with her camera. Using simple MDF, spray paint and a patient Dad, she has created these wonderful items with which to display her photography—mostly landscapes, abstract, and macro-photography—and they really are quite impressive.

During the day we drank coffee, mulled wine, ate a burger, and toured the other stalls. There were loads of great things to buy, everything from music, jewellery, paintings and you could even get a massage. I purchased a print from a painter. I saw it as soon as we arrived and as fate turned out our stall was right next to the same artist, Rebecca Dover, whom we chatter to for a lot of the time.

Most embarrassing moment was when I went to sit down on my chair, completely forgetting I’d folded it up and nearly brought the x-wall down on top of the teddy bear seller, painter and ceramic painter in the other sections. Most red-faced was I.

Here’s Gail sitting at her stall just after she’d made her first sale.

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